FCC back to full five members as net neutrality vote looms

After a seven-month gap, the FCC is about to be at full capacity again — at least temporarily. In a surprise move, the Senate held off on giving Chairman Ajit Pai another term, and he would have to leave if he's not reconfirmed by the end of the year.

The unusual victory for Democrats comes as the roiling net neutrality debate — the most high-profile issue before the FCC — approaches its next flashpoint. Democrats, who voted against Pai en masse when his renomination was before the Senate Commerce Committee this week, notched a win by delaying Pai's vote.

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The deal worked out between Democrats and Republicans was that the Senate would confirm Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Brendan Carr for the FCC via voice vote — a quick procedure — and that Pai would have a recorded vote in the fall, in which a roll is called and senators vote one by one, according to two Democratic aides. That gives Democrats a platform to vote against Pai publicly, against the background of the FCC deciding what to do about its proposal to undo Obama-era net neutrality rules.

"We are back to a bipartisan tradition of pairing nominees, and that will enable the committee to be more productive legislatively," Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told POLITICO.

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Rosenworcel and Carr as commissioners. That gives the agency a total of five members for the first time since early January.

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They'll take office as Pai's FCC prepares to undo the net neutrality rules passed by the commission's previous Democratic majority — which included Rosenworcel — in 2015. While Pai has the votes he needs to roll back the rules, his action has sparked an intense criticism from congressional Democrats and consumer groups, and a record 15 million public comments. Pai has said he wants to complete the rulemaking process by the end of the year.

Pai tweeted his congratulations to Carr and Rosenworcel and said in a statement he is looking forward to working with them and happy the commission is at full strength.

For Rosenworcel, the confirmation marks the end of an odyssey that saw her reconfirmation to the FCC turned into a political football in the waning days of the last Congress. She was renominated by former President Barack Obama, but Republicans held up her confirmation over then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s refusal to publicly commit to leaving the agency.

The GOP obstruction infuriated then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who said it violated a previous agreement between the two parties. Reid in response froze a number of telecom-related bills — including Sen. John Thune's MOBILE NOW bill, which aims to make more government spectrum available for commercial use.

While the Senate departed late last year without giving Rosenworcel the nod, Reid's replacement as minority leader, Chuck Schumer, took up her cause again. Rosenworcel along with Pai and Carr — the FCC's general counsel and a former Pai aide — won approval from Thune's Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday.